June, '15] 



SEVERIX-SEVERIX: IMPORTED OXICX FLY 



349 



Altantic coast to Illinois." Two black onion f ies were taken by the 

 writers in Milwaukee County, V\ isconsin, on June 12, 1902. In the 

 year 1913, nine of these insects were captured in Racine County, 

 Wisconsin, and one specimen was bred from an infested onion on 

 August 27. The black onion fly was not a serious pest of the onion in 

 the season of 1913. 



VH Barred-Winged Oniox Fly {Chcvtopsis oenea Wied.) 



The barred-winged onion fly {Chcetopsis anea Wied.) was bred from 

 decaying and also smut-infected onions. 



VIII EUXESTA NOTATA WiED. 



Another Ortalid (Evxesta iiotata Wied.) was commonly reared from 

 decaying and smut -infected onions and from piles of decaying onion 

 tops. The maggots of this insect were often found feeding in company 

 with the larvae of the imported onion fly or in decaying or partially 

 decayed onions which the latter had deserted. 



IX Oxiox Thrips {Thrips tabaci Lind.) 



The first noticeable injury to onion plants caused by the onion thrips 

 (Thrips tabaci Lind.) was observed at the end of June. At this time 

 thrips were especiall\' abundant between the two central or innermost 

 leaves. Considerable alarm was expressed by the onion growers 

 during the prolonged hot dry spell at this time of the year, as enormous 

 numbers of the pest began to appear in the onion fields. On July 4, 

 the dry spell was broken by a driving rain which according to the 

 statements of the commercial onion growers, ''destroyed great 

 numbers of the insect and saved the onion crop." In the month of 

 August, however, the leaves showed severe thrip injury, namely, the 

 whitened appearance of the leaves produced by the rasping and suck- 

 ing mouth-parts of the insects. 



X Cutworms 



Cutworms caused a slight amount of injury in the onion growing 

 districts near Racine, Wisconsin, in 1913. The damage to onions by 

 these pests was principally the work of the spotted cutworm {Noctua 

 c-nigrum Linn.) and the variegated cutworm (Peridroma saucia Hbn.). 

 The spotted cutworm was so heavily parasitized by a parasite, Apante- 

 les (Protapanteles) sp. in 1913, that but little injury was caused to the 

 onions by the pest. 



XI Miscellaneous Insects Injurious to Onions 



Among the miscellaneous insects injurious to onions observed 

 occasionally in the onion fields were the following: Zebra caterpillar 



3 



